The Difference of worlds
by archangel77
Summary: "Look for the light...believe in the Fireflies." Bullshit. Now the light is looking for them.
1. Chapter 1

The difference in worlds

*AN* Just a little bit of background, this does take place right after the game ends and they're heading back to Tommy's. Naturally, if you haven't finished the game, you probably shouldn't be reading fanfics unless you don't mind spoilers.

Even as hard headed and stubborn as Joel is, he was glad to finally be back someplace where he could settle down for a while. Tommy's small little community that they had going was a welcoming sight to him. Even though she was quiet, he was sure that Ellie would be relieved as well. They hadn't spoken much since Ellie had told him about her friend, and when she had asked him about the truth. She still wasn't quite herself, but then again, Joel wasn't either. He couldn't stand lying to her, but it was for her own good…or at least that's what Joel wants to believe.

"C'mon Ellie, we're almost at the gate. Looks like they got the electricity still running, maybe Tommy has a few movies you could watch. I reckon you don't have much experience with movies, it'll be good for ya; maybe you could learn a thing or two," Joel chuckled as he looked over his shoulder to the young girl that walked behind him. She didn't say anything back, she just continued on looking at the ground. Joel took a couple more steps but then he stopped; causing Ellie to plop into his back, nearly knocking herself over.

"Sorry…" Ellie mumbled, catching her balance. She placed her hands on the straps of her backpack and went to walk past him, but Joel reached out his hand and grabbed her arm gently, stopping her.

"Ellie-"

"I'm fine Joel… I just…want to go to sleep." Ellie pulled her arm away from Joel and continued walking down the forest path to the small town. Joel let out a sigh and followed on behind her.

The rest of the walk to the gate was quiet. It disturbed Joel a little that Ellie was **this **quiet, even if she was upset, normally she would've come around by now and started talking about something random, or pulled out her joke book, or something.

Ellie stopped and waited for Joel once they arrived at the gate. There was a guard standing on top in a tower next to the gate, looking down on then.

"Hands up! Any weapons drop them now!" The guard pointed his gun at the two of them. Joel raised his hands in the air as he let out another sigh. Ellie, however, did not. She kept them on her backpack, and kept her face pointing down.

"Pain in my ass…" Joel mumbled to himself. "This the thanks I get for helping to save your ass earlier?" Joel raised his voice so that the guard could hear him. The soldier looked at Joel, and then to Ellie, then back to Joel; he then lowered his weapon.

"Oh, you're Tommy's brother right? My apologies, things have still been pretty crazy around here; with the bandits and all. Tommy is busy working on something with the boys in the power plant; I'll open the gate and get ahold of his lady friend." The guard gave a head nod down to what must have been somebody near the gate as it was soon pushed open. Joel lowered his hands back down to his side as he started to walk inside. He looked behind him and motioned for Ellie to follow him.

"C'mon," He said to her. Ellie began to move her legs, slowly making her way into the town. Once they were inside, the door was closed behind him.

"Wait here, Maria is on her way; should be here in a few minutes." Joel didn't reply, he just nodded his head. "You know; I'm actually surprised you guys made it back in one piece. Tommy said you went hunting for the Fireflies, pretty dangerous roads out there for an old man and a young girl."

"Yeah well…we managed just fine." Joel replied boldly.

"Did we..?" He heard Ellie mumble. He turned and faced towards her. He hated looking at her sad face, he hated even more that he was the one responsible for it.

"Joel!" He heard a women yell cheerfully. He turned his gaze from Ellie to out in front of him where Maria was walking towards him waving her hand in the air. Once she was closer to him, she offered out her hand to him. Joel smiled vaguely and gave her a head nod.

"Ma'am," He said accepting the handshake the Maria was offering. Maria smiled at him and then looked behind him, towards Ellie. The smile seemed to fluctuate a little as she saw her, like she was now trying to force the smile.

"Ellie! How have you been?" She asked as she walked towards her. Ellie let out a sigh as Maria stopped in front of her.

"I've been better…" Maria knew instantly that something was wrong with her. The way she talked, the way she looked, it was pretty easy to tell.

"You hungry at all? I could go cook us up a meal really quick."

"No thanks…do you have a bed I could use though?"

"You bet, I'm sure you must be tired. Come with me, I'll take you to Tommy and I's house, you can use our bed; we don't need it right now anyways. Joel, Tommy is down at the plant if you want to go pay him a visit." Maria motioned Ellie to follow her as she turned her head to Joel.

"Yeah, I suppose I should. See if I can convince him to get us a place to stay here for a while." Maria let out a soft chuckle.

"Like that will be difficult." Sarcasm was heavy in her voice as she finished her sentence. Joel chuckled a little as well and then watched as her and Ellie began to walk away. Before they disappeared out of sight, Ellie turned and looked back at Joel, the same expression on her face. Joel looked right back at her, right into her eyes. They locked eyes for a second, and then she turned back away and disappeared around a corner.

Once they were gone, Joel started making his way to the plant. On his way, he passed by a family that was standing out in front of their home. It wasn't the best of places, you probably couldn't even call it a house, just a place that had a roof really; but the look on their faces, the look of sheer joy and happiness on their faces, made it seem like they were living in a mansion. The mother and father were proudly holding their young daughters hands and she would jump in the air and they would swing her back and forth. She couldn't have been more than ten years old.

Joel glanced down to his watch, placing his palm over the face of it as he continued to walk. He covered had his hand over it for a few seconds before removing it. He rested his hands back down at his side and then looked down at his stomach. He brought his right hand back up and felt around on his belly, feeling the bumps of the scar he has.

Joel maneuvered his way around the town until he finally came to where the plant was. Just as he was getting ready to walk in, the door came bursting open and Tommy walked outside, he was talking on his walkie-talkie.

"No goddammit, do not do it. Now list- Look I don't give two shits what he thinks! He's not the one who has a town to worry about! You tell him if he has a problem with it he can get his ass out of here and become a goddamn Hunter!" He pulled the device away from his mouth and turned it off.

"Nice to see you too baby brother," Joel chuckled as Tommy had caught sight of him. A small smile came across Tommy's face as he walked up to Joel and have him a hug.

"You are one tough son of a bitch," He said in a teary voice as he released Joel from his grip.

"Wouldn't be your brother if I wasn't." Tommy and Joel shared a laugh with each other before Tommy spoke up again.

"Here probably isn't the ideal place for us to catch up, I'm sure you must be exhausted." Tommy stated to walk away, motioning Joel to follow. He began to walk behind him, when something crossed his mind. He let out a little laugh before he spoke.

"I can't believe I'm gunna ask this, but what're the odds you got a beer hidden somewhere? I have had one hell of a trip and nothing sounds better than sittn down and having a nice cold one."

Tommy laughed at his question.

"And just where in the hell do you think I would get a beer from? You know, they only fall from my ass during the winter time, and last I checked we're past that season already."

"Can you blame me for asking?"

"…I suppose not. I'd be asking if I were you too, I can't imagine what it must have been like. You're taking it all better than I had expected though," Tommy paused his sentence as he led them into a building. He waited for Joel to step inside and then he closed the door behind him. It was one of the buildings where the people slept; as there were beds everywhere. Just past some of beds, there was a small room at the end of the hall.

"It was quite the trip…one I'd soon like to forget," Joel mumbled as he followed Tommy to the room. Tommy took out his keys and unlocked the door, pushing it open and stepping inside. He invited Joel in behind him, and then closed it. The room was like a small living room. There was an old couch sitting in the middle and then up against the wall there was a T.V. On the backside of the room there was a small table with two chairs on either side of it. Tommy walked up to the table and took a seat; Joel did the same. He took off his backpack and set it down on the couch before he took his seat though.

"Man does it feel good to sit," Joel sighed as he sat down and stretched his arms out over his head, cracking his knuckles.

"So how'd it go? With the Fireflies I mean. They staring to develop a cure?"

The question caught Joel off guard. He adjusted himself in the seat, resting his elbows on the table and his locking his hands together, placing his face behind them. He let out a sigh before he replied.

"I…I couldn't do it…" Tommy let out a deep sigh and then stood up from the table and walked over to the door. He took out his key and began to lock it.

"I know you couldn't…which is why I'm going to." Tommy tucked the key into his pocket and turned around to face Joel. Joel stood up from the table and narrowed his eyes.

"What the hell do you mean, you're going to?" Joel raised his voice and his heart began to race a little.

"Listen to me Joel, this girl is the cure for the world! She could end all this!"

"What the hell do you mean Tommy!" Joel's voice was now angry as he took a couple steps towards his brother. He was stopped in his tracks though when Tommy pulled out a gun from behind him; it had probably been tucked into his pants.

"Don't make this harder than it has to be. I am doing the right thing here Joel."

Joel had so many emotions and thoughts running through him. He was shocked, he was confused, but most of all, he was pissed. Joel didn't know what to make of this situation, but as he stared at the gun, he noticed something. And then it all became clear to him.

"Firefly…" Joel mumbled. Hidden under Tommy's sleeve was a Firefly band. He had it covered up by his shirt and was wearing it on his wrist. "You're a goddamn firefly." Joel lost his words as he came to the realization of what was going on.

"I'm not just any Firefly…you're looking at one of the leaders."

Joel took a few steps back, pressing his back up against the wall. His face turned to disbelief as he looked into the eyes of his brother. "I don't know how, but somehow a group of em found this place a few weeks ago. Told me what had happened back at Salt Lake City. Said that you refused to give the girl up, even killed Marlene. Offered me more supplies than you could ever imagine. We have enough food to feed every single person in this town for at least a year, and that's not even counting what we've grown and stored up ourselves. And all they wanted was one thing in return."

"A leader. What the hell happened, I thought you were done with them?" Joel spoke up confidently and boldly. Tommy lowered the gun to his side, shook his head and laughed.

"Still the same foolish older brother… now why do you think they would come all the way out here, looking for me huh? Any old person could become a leader, I just decided to take the offer, do things my way for once...and I was done with them, but this offer was too big to pass up just because of a personal vendetta. When they came here, they didn't come looking for a leader, they came looking for me; just so happens that they ended up with both."

Joel studied Tommy's face for a few seconds, and then it hit him.

"You sold us out… didn't you? You knew that I'd come back here afterwards you son of a bitch!" Joel took a violent leap towards Tommy, but he was quick to react. He pulled up the gun and pulled the trigger, putting a bullet in Joel's left arm. Joel let out a slight scream in pain as he stumbled backwards and put his hand over the place where he had been shot. Tommy lowered the gun back down as he began to speak.

"This is what separates us big brother, this is why we never got along. You and I just see things far too different. You see, unlike you…I'm not about to put one person over the fate of the world… even if that person is my brother." Tommy rose up the gun and pointed it at Joel.

Joel didn't have time to think, he knew that Tommy was being serious. If he didn't do something soon, he would die by his brother's hands. Unsure of what else he could do, Joel took his right arm and grabbed the chair that he had sat in. He tossed it as hard as he could at Tommy. The sudden action caught Tommy of guard, and it him as he pulled the trigger, causing his shot to be a little off course. Joel then took charge at Tommy, delivering a strong right hook across his face. The hit was so fierce it caused Tommy to drop the gun, sending it sliding across the floor.

Joel didn't stop there thogh, he tucked Tommy's head underneath his arm and gave him a couple knees to the gut. After that he released him and gave him another monstrous punch across the face, sending him flying backwards, crashing into the T.V. and falling to the floor. Tommy was slow to move, but he was still breathing and he wasn't done yet. He crawled across the floor, trying to reach the gun, but just before he could get to it, Joel stomped down on his hand, breaking it instantly. Tommy yelled out in pain.

"Of all the people I thought I could trust... I guess family doesn't mean anything to you," Joel rose up his foot off of Tommy's wrist and walked over to the gun. He bent down and picked it up. Now with the gun in hand, he turned and pointed it down towards his brother.

"My family means everything to me! Why do you think I'm doing this? This isn't for me, this isn't for you, this is for everybody on this planet! This can change everybody's lives forever! Things could go back to the way they were! Back when we were all together…why can't you see that Joel? Why can't you just **once **listen to your brother?"

Tommy's face was a mess as he and Joel locked eyes. He had blood gushing out of his nose, and he had some pretty fancy cuts on his face as well.

"You're not my brother."

Those were his finals words to him. After he finished his sentence, he pulled the trigger, putting a bullet in Tommy's head. Joel stared down at him, and lowered the gun. As the blood from his headed started to pool out, Joel's lip began to quiver. His eyes became teary for a second, but he soon wiped them with his sleeve. The sudden movement of his shoulder caused his arm to hut, he had forgotten all about being shot. He quickly moved to the desk drawer, and started scavenging around, looking for something to help his wound. Luckily inside there were some bandages. He opened up his backpack and tossed them inside. He then tossed it over his shoulders and approached his brother's body. He bent down and fished out the keys from his pocket. Once he had them he gave one final look at him, and then made his way out of the room.

He walked back out into the hall, and then he began to sprint out of the building.

"Ellie..!" He mumbled to himself. Joel ran out of the building, kicking the door open as he did. He stepped outside, where to his right there was a soldier waiting for him. He had his gun pointed at him, but Joel didn't care. He rose up the pistol that he had taken from Tommy and shot the soldier in the arm, causing him to drop his gun. Joel then ran up and threw his forearm on his neck, pinning him against the wall while choking him. He put his gun up to the soldier's stomach and began to question him.

"Where is Tommy's house?"

"Eat…shit…" The guard chocked out. Joel rolled his eyes in frustration and shot the gun.

"I do not have time for this…now each time you feel like being a bitch the gun is going to go lower and lower until I blow your fucking balls off. Now, where is Tommy's house?"

"Fuck…off…" Joel let out a deep breath of air through his nostrils and moved the gun down, firing two shots off into the guy's private area.

"Where. Is it."

"D…down…down the hill…can't miss it…has flag…" Joel released his grip from the soldier and then shot him in the head. He then took off running down the street. He had just begun to sprint when he heard somebody call out his name.

"Joel!" Joel raised his head to the voice. That sweet innocent voice could only belong to one person.

"Ellie!" Joel shouted back. She had emerged from the top of the hill and was running towards him. She ran until she reached him, and then she stopped to catch her breath.

"What the fuck is going on?" She asked in a panic.

"I'll explain later, right now we gotta go."

"Joel!"

"Later! Now move!" Joel snapped at her. He took off sprinting towards the gate. Ellie was frustrated, but she followed right behind him. They were able to run all the way to the road that led to the gate, but once they got there, there was a group of soldiers blocking the way out. Joel signaled Ellie to get down as they took refuge behind one of the walls of a building. He counted his bullets for his pistol, making sure it was fully loaded.

"See if you can peer you head around the corner, get a count to see how many of them there are," Joel told her. Ellie did as he said and poked out her head, counting them, and that's when she noticed the bands on their shoulders.

"Why the fuck are there Fireflies here?!" She asked, her voice filled with anger and confusion.

"I will explain later Ellie, we don't have time for this right now…now what was the headcount?"

Ellie stared at him, locking her eyes with his. She didn't say anything at first, she just studied his face.

"Seven," She finally said. Joel looked at his pistol and then back to Ellie.

"Alright…I'm going to clear us a path. You stay on my ass at all times, you hear me? As soon as we're out we make a break for it, see if we can make our way back to our truck." Ellie didn't say anything, she just nodded her head. Joel looked around the corner and noticed that two of them were walking towards them.

"You still got that knife? Looks like we got a couple of them walkin past us."

Ellie pulled the knife out of her pocket and held it in her hand. She stared at Joel and waited for him to give the signal. The guards had just walked passed them when he motioned his hand to go. Ellie jumped up on one of the guards back, throwing one of her hands over his mouth and the other one jamming the knife into his neck. While she was doing this; Joel had taken one of his shivs and stuck in into the neck of the other one; quietly and quickly eliminating him. Once those two were out of the way, Joel crept around the corner and moved alongside the wall, motioning for Ellie to follow quickly behind him. Once they made it to a spot where they were out of view from the soldiers, Joel set down his backpack and handed Ellie the rifle.

"Up on those towers on the gate, there's a couple guards up there…think you can handle taking the one of the left down?" Joel asked as he pulled out his bow. Ellie nodded her head and took aim down the scope. Joel loaded an arrow into the string and pulled back on it.

"Three, two, one…now!" Joel let the arrow go and Ellie pulled the trigger. Both the guards fell from the towers down to the floor.

"Over there!" One of the other soldiers yelled, pointing at where the gunfire came from.

"Alright Ellie let's move!" Joel grabbed the rifle from her and put it back onto his backpack, along with the bow. He tossed her the pistol instead and pulled out his revolver. He took off sprinting once again with Ellie close behind him. He shot off a couple bullets towards the soldiers, as did Ellie. They both managed to take down one each, leaving only one guard left. The final one was standing in front of the gate. Joel continued to charge, hoping that the soldier's stormtrooper-like accuracy would continue. Joel was soon in the soldiers face, and he landed a right hook. He then took the staggered soldier and turned him around, bashing his face against the gate.

"Go go go!" Joel shouted as he pushed open the gate. Ellie ran through the small gap that was created, and then Joel squeezed himself through it. They took off running down the dirt path, eventually breaking off into the forest. They ran for a while, before they came to a stop.

"Alright, we should be fine here…it's going to get dark soon, we should set up camp here tonight," Joel said taking a seat onto the ground. "It should be warm enough tonight that we shouldn't need a fire…unless you're hungry, then I could get one goin and make us some beans or some-"

"Why did you lie to me?" Ellie asked, cutting him off. Her voice was filled with anger, and at the same time sadness. She slid her backpack off her shoulders and let it fall to the ground as Joel looked into her eyes and let out a sigh.

"Look, Ellie I-"

"They told me what they were going to do. Back at the hospital, I knew the sacrifice I was making. I knew I was going to die, but it was for the better! What if my one life could help save the rest of the planet? At least if I died like that then I would know I died for something! Now we just wait to starve, get killed by hunters, or eaten by infected!"

"Ellie-"

"Why couldn't you just let me go?" Her voice became the complete opposite of what it had been. It was now very soft and quiet. He could see that tears were starting to form in her eyes as well. Joel let his muscles loosen up a bit as his body was becoming calm. He stared into her eyes, and tried to answer her.

"I-"

"Why Joel?!" Ellie had now run over to him, and thrown herself at him, diving into his chest and throwing her arms around him, tears now starting to flow down her face. "Why the fuck do you care about me enough to put me above the rest of the world?"

"…You only see the world as what we're living in…you keep thinking that this is the only world that there is, that there is nothing else."

"I don't get it…this is the only world we have."

"What you don't realize is that for some people, their world isn't a place…it's a person. Now I've already lost my world once…I'm not about to lose it again." Joel put one of his arms around Ellie's waist, and the other one on the back of her head. He held her head against his chest, but the tears wouldn't stop falling from her eyes. Unsure of how to comfort her, Joel began to sing.

" _Hush, little baby, don't say a word,  
Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird._

_And if that mockingbird don't sing,  
Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring._

_And if that diamond ring turns brass,  
Papa's gonna buy you a looking glass._

_And if that looking glass gets broke,  
Papa's gonna buy you a billy goat._

_And if that billy goat don't pull,  
Papa's gonna buy you a cart and bull._

_And if that cart and bull turn over,  
Papa's gonna buy you a dog named Rover._

_And if that dog named Rover won't bark.  
Papa's gonna buy you and horse and cart._

_And if that horse and cart fall down,  
Well you'll still be the sweetest little baby in town_."

He had finally sung for her, sure it wasn't an actual song, but it was something. He had gotten halfway through before Ellie stopped crying…by the time he was done with it she had fallen asleep. Joel lifted her up off of his chest, and held her up with his right arm, his good arm. He used his other arm to pull off his backpack. He moved some of the stuff in it around and tried to make it as soft as possible, he then placed it behind his head and he laid down, letting Ellie fall back down onto his chest. Joel too closed his eyes…he wanted so bad to forget everything that had happened today. He had just been through hell and back, and now it looks like he's getting ready to go at it again. At least Ellie was there with him…no matter how many times he's asked or how many times he thinks about it…he will never regret putting his world above the real one.

*AN* Well, that's my story…I can't decide if I want to keep it going with more chapters or not, I definitely left it open so that I could, but I don't necessarily have too. I know it's not the greatest story, but the game was just so amazing I had to write one :3 anyways, lemme know what you guys think! Thanks!

Also, this is my disclaimer: I do not own the last of us. All characters are already made, i take no credit for them, just this story. I also don't own the lullaby that is used in the story.


	2. Chapter 2

The night continued to tick on as Joel was still resting, drifting away into his subconscious mind. Unknowing to him though, he had slipped into dream land, where his mind would play evil tricks on him. He found himself in a room, it wasn't very big, but it wasn't small either. There were no windows and only one door. With not much else to do, Joel walked forward and headed to the door. He reached out his hand and attempted to turn the handle, but it was locked. He fidgeted with it for a couple seconds before giving up and turning around. His body turned faster than his head, as he still kept his eyes on the handle. When his face finally caught up to his body, there was a person standing in front of him; it was Tommy.

"You just couldn't let her go, could you big brother?" Tommy's voice echoed around in the room. His face was still bloodied from their previous encounter, and the hole from where he had been shot was still in his head.

Startled from the sudden appearance of Tommy, Joel jumped back a little, taking a couple seconds to study the person that stood before him.

"She's just one little brat, how important can she be? More important than your life? Than mine? Than the world?" Tommy continued to hound on Joel. Joel wanted to shout back at him, but he couldn't find his voice, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't speak. Attempting to get away, Joel turned back around and slammed into the door with his shoulder. He did this a couple times until it burst open. When the door came open, Joel stumbled over himself as the momentum of his body kept him going. He quickly recovered and slammed the door shut; turning around to find only another person standing in front of him.

"It was my dying with that you get this girl to that lab, but you couldn't do it even for me huh Texas?" The soft voice of a woman now echoed throughout the room. Joel stood paralyzed as he looked into the eyes of this woman. He wanted so badly to speak to her, but still no words came. He could feel the tears starting to form in his eyes, but he wouldn't let them fall. He studied the woman's body, the bite mark that was on her upper chest, near her collarbone. He also caught attention of a few bullet holes that were in her chest as well. "What happened Joel?" she mumbled softly. First it was his brother Tommy, and now it was Tess. His past was catching up to him, just like it always does.

"…rry-" Joel finally managed to speak up. It was really quiet, but his voice was coming back to him. "I'm sorry…" He said again as he started into the eyes of Tess. She didn't say anything, she just walked up to him.

"…Of course you are," She said in disbelief. She raised up her right foot and delivered a powerful kick to the gut of Joel, knocking him backwards and on his ass. His head slammed against the floor of the room he was in, causing him to black out for a few seconds.

When he reopened his eyes, he was in a new environment yet again. He was outside, but the trees and the grass weren't overgrown or rotten. This was back before the world went to hell. The air was so pure, and the leaves were so green. Joel used his hands to help push himself up onto his butt, where he looked around and admired the scenery around him. He leaned backwards on his hands and stared up into the sky; the sun was bright and there wasn't a cloud to be found. He stared off into the sky for a couple seconds, but his though process was soon broken when he felt something slam into his back. It wasn't anything painful, just a quick bump and it was gone. He turned his head behind him to find a soccer ball resting against his back.

"Does she like soccer? Does she even know what it is?" The voice that was now speaking nearly caused him to let the tears go then and there. The sweet innocent voice that spoke to him only belonged to one person, and one person alone. Joel stood to his feet and turned to the little blonde girl that stood behind him.

"Sarah," Joel said as he took a couple steps towards her. She was dressed in her soccer outfit, proudly wearing the number 14 jersey. She didn't have a sad look on her face though, instead she wore a smile. It was a very warm soft smile, the kind that only a kid can wear.

"C'mon, kick it back," Sarah chuckled a little as she pointed to the ball. Joel stopped walking and looked behind him at the soccer ball. He brought his foot back behind him and was able to roll it towards him with the tip of his shoe. Once he had it in front of him, he used the side of his foot to gently kick it to her. As the ball slowly made its way to her, Joel stared at her, watching as she anxiously awaited the ball to get to her. It was then that he had noticed the blood on her jersey.

"Honey come here," Joel said softly as he began to walk towards her. She stopped the ball with her foot, and then slowly walked to Joel. Once she was close enough, Joel placed his hand over the spot where the blood was. He lifted up her shirt a little ways and noticed the spot where she had been shot. Upon seeing it he let her shirt fall back down as he tried to stop himself from sobbing. He placed his hand on his face and tried to wipe his eyes, but it was no good; a tear had already begun to trickle down his face.

"You still wear it," Sarah said softly. Joel pulled his hand away from his face and looked at the watch that was on his wrist, she must've noticed it when he attempted to wipe away the tears.

"Every day," Joel replied, his voice still teary.

"You know it's broken right? I bet you look silly walking around with a broken watch," Sarah laughed a little as she walked to Joel and grabbed his wrist, looking at the watch. Joel let her look for a second before he retraced his hand and sat down on the ground.

"Some of the things people walk around with today, a broken watch aint nothin." Joel tried to cheer up, but he couldn't. His voice was still scraggly and broken from crying. He turned his attention back down to his watch and started at it. He was still looking at it, when he felt the gentle touch of a hand on his shoulder. He raised his head to find Sarah offering him her hand. Joel took hold if it with his right hand and with help he pulled himself back to his feet. As soon as he was standing, Sarah had thrown herself into him, wrapping her arms around him and embracing him in a hug.

"I love you dad," Sarah mumbled out softly. Joel put his arms over her shoulders and rested his hands on her back as the tears began to start up again.

"I love you too sweetie," He finally replied, his voice broken and soft. As he embraced her in his arms, there was a sudden gust of wind that arose. As it blew past them, Sarah's body began to fade away, like she was dissolving into little grains of sand that would blow through the wind. Joel could feel her slipping out of his arms, and soon, her body was gone.

It was at this point that Joel had awakened from his slumber. He quickly shot up off the ground and rested on his hands. He was breathing heavily as he looked at the environment around him. The sun had just started to rise as it must've been the very early morning hours. He rose up one of his hands and wiped his eyes, wiping away a tear that had fallen from them.

"You're awake," He heard a voice say to him. He turned his head and saw Ellie, sitting on the ground and poking at a fire with a stick. Joel didn't say anything at first; he just gave his face another wipe down and then lowered his head back down onto his backpack.

"Yeah…I'm awake," He replied staring into the sky. There were still a few stars that could be seen as the sun hadn't quiet chased them away yet. "You get that fire going?"

"Yeah, it took me forever, but yeah. I got bored while you were sleeping so I decided to build a fire. You hungry at all? I think we've got a couple cans of ham that we could cook over the fire…and I know what you're thinking, but it's not actually that bad. Just make sure you cook both sides evenly, otherwise it might taste a little funny but-"

"Ellie," Joel said, interrupting her. "Isn't it way to early in the morning for you to have this kind of energy?" Joel sat up once again, this time stretching his arms out in front of him and cracking his knuckles. Ellie laughed a little at his remark as she threw the stick she had into the fire.

"Yeah well, sitting here doing nothing actually gives me more energy than you'd think." Joel crooked a smile as he scooted his way over towards the fire, placing his hands next to it, letting the warmth course through his body.

"Just how long have you been awake anyways?"

"Long enough to know that you talk a lot in your sleep…I can't understand what you're saying half the time though, it's all just a bunch of mumbles really."

"That a fact?" Joel let his voice become quiet as he recalled parts of the dream, specifically the parts with Sarah. Ellie noticed the change in his voice, but she didn't say anything, they just sat there in silence for a minute.

Ellie was the first one to speak up.

"So what now?" She asked letting out a sigh.

"We keep on moving, maybe find a place to settle down for a while. I remember a couple of houses that we passed through on our way here, some of them pretty secluded from towns, they'd make good places to lay low for a bit."

"You know you still haven't told me why we need to lay low…or why the Fireflies were back at Tommy's…are they hunting us?" Ellie turned and looked to Joel. There was a slight glisten of fear in her eyes as she spoke.

"Back at Tommy's…him and I, we uh…we didn't have the most pleasant of conversations…he said the Fireflies came looking for him a few weeks ago, offered him up a deal he couldn't refuse. As it turns out, he became one of the leaders of the Fireflies, said he-"

"Wait, what do you mean 'one of the leaders'? What happened to Marlene? I thought she was the only leader?"

Shit. Joel had set himself up for this. He didn't know what to tell her, he didn't want to lie to her again, but could she accept the truth? He couldn't give her an answer; he could only look into her eyes.

"Be honest with me," She added in softly.

"…She would have only hunted us down," Joel finally said. Ellie's face sunk as she took in what he had just told her.

"You killed her..?" She muttered out. Joel didn't reply, again unsure of what he should tell her. His face gave her the answer though, it wouldn't matter what he said, she knew the truth. She took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly.

"Ellie…I only did-"

"Promise me one thing Joel," Ellie said interrupting him, her voice sounding like she was trying to fight back tears. "Promise me that you won't leave me. Promise me that you will always be here, that no matter what, you won't be like everybody else. Every person I've come in contact with seems to end up dead or they just leave me…Rachel, Tess, Marlene, Henry, Sam…all of them are gone…" A single tear rolled down her face as she named off the names. Once she was finished, Joel let out a sigh and scooted closer to her.

"Only if you can promise me something," Joel paused as Ellie rose her head and looked at him, signaling that she was waiting on him to continue. "That from this point on, we don't bring up our past. Ever. What's done is done, aint nothing we can do about it. If you can overlook what has happened in the past…I'll be there for you to look forward to in the future. Deal?" Joel folded his legs and let his arms fold across his knees as he waited for Ellie to reply.

"…alright, deal," Ellie stuck out her hand and extended her pinky finger to him.

"Now what is this?" He asked as he looked at her finger.

"It's not official until you pinky promise…you can't break a pinky promise."

"A pinky promise huh? …fine." Joel put his hand out to hers, and their pinkies locked with each other's. Once they were done, Joel stood up and brushed off his pants.

"Alright, we should get a move on. The move we keep moving, the harder we'll be to find." Joel bent down and picked up his backpack, and that's when he felt a sharp pain run through his shoulder. Again, he had forgotten he had been shot and the bullet was still in there.

"Ah! Goddammit!" He shouted, throwing his hand over his wound.

"Hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Ellie asked concerned. She was quick to jump over to him.

"Back at Tommie's, I got shot in the shoulder…forgot all about it till I went to bend it just right." Joel sat back down on the ground and moved his shirt so that it was hanging off his shoulder, exposing the wound. Ellie took a look at it and notice that it was already starting to become infected.

"That's not looking too good…we need to get the bullet out and wrap it up otherwise it's only going to get worse."

Ellie was right, he should probably get the bullet out, but there was no painless way to do it. She would have to do it herself, and they didn't really have a lot of tools at their disposal.

"Alright…in my backpack there should be a bottle that has a little bit of alcohol in it…take what's left and put in on some of those bandages. Once you got that give it to me and I'll try and brush it up a little bit. While I'm doing that, see if you can find the tape and scissors…try and tape some of the bandages on them, we can use them as forceps to try and get the bullet out." It was already hurting Joel just to think about it, but at this point, it was the best they could do.

"Are you sure? I mean, what if I make it worse? I don't want to cause you to lose too much blood, and what if I accidentally-"

"Ellie," Joel said cutting her off. "You'll be fine, I trust you."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Now go on, get the stuff ready." Ellie let out a deep sigh, and then she started to dig through his backpack. She found everything she needed and handed Joel some bandages with a little alcohol on them. He took it and started to dab the wound, causing it to sting a little. Joel was able to clean it up a little and get some of the dried blood off the spot where the wound was open, making it a little easier to see. Once he was done he looked over to Ellie, it seemed like she had everything ready on her end as well.

"You ready?" He asked her. She gulped down some air and then nodded her head. Joel unbuttoned his shirt and took it off, setting it on the ground next to him. He then grabbed his backpack and tucked it behind his head as he laid back down. Ellie admired his body as this was only the second time she had seen him without a shirt, the first being when he had to get the gash on his stomach fixed up. He was fairly well toned, with a few scars on his body, the newest one being from the bullet. Ellie made her way over to his side, and carefully held the scissors in her hand.

"Alright, here I go," Ellie said as she began to dig into the wound with the blade. Joel let out a grunt of pain as she did it.

"Agh, son of a bitch!" He said, squeezing his eyes shut. Ellie noticed that he was squirming, so she tried to make it as quick as possible. She pushed the blades in even further, but they stopped when they collided with the bullet. She maneuvered them around until she felt them grab onto it.

"Got it," She said as she pulled them out of his body, bringing the bullet out with her. Joel let out a heavy sight of pain as the blades left his body. He took a few deep breaths and then sat up slowly. He took the bandage that had the alcohol on it and placed in on the wound, causing it to sting again. This pain was slightly more bearable though compared to what he had just gone through. He had Ellie hand him a few pieces of tape and then he taped the bandage onto him, making sure it wouldn't fall off. Once it was I place, and tossed his shirt back on and stood up.

"Alright, let's get a move on. We should get as far as we can before nightfall, should have about a day and a half walk before we get to the truck if we stick to the forest." Joel tossed his backpack over his shoulders and helped Ellie to her feet.

"You're the boss," Ellie replied sarcastically as she too slipped on her backpack. Before they got ready to leave, Joel gave one final look to Ellie, and noticed the soft smile on her face. A smile that only a kid could wear.

*AN* well, i did decide to carry it on into another chapter. I think i have some sort of an idea where to go with this now, so expect more chapters in the future!


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